Everton have a young talent breaking into the first team picture who Ashley Williams believes will “play for England for the next however many years.”

But for once, young midfielder Tom Davies is not the teenage star being talked up.

Williams rates Davies very highly, but it is defensive rival Mason Holgate who the Blues defender believes is “the real deal”.

Holgate started four matches in succession at the turn of the new year, at the same time that Davies was making his eye-opening impact on the Premier League.

And Williams said: “They are really good, some of the best I’ve played with for their age.

“I think Mason has got unbelievable talent and I think he will play for England for the next however many years. “I think he is the real deal.

“With ‘Davo’, we have all seen - especially in the Manchester City game when he scored - since he’s come into the team how consistent he’s been. That’s the main thing you don’t normally get from a young lad.”

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Holgate especially has benefited from having Williams' experience alongside him.

Despite not having worn the skipper's armband at Goodison, the Welsh international says he has become a natural leader.

“It was developed over time,” he told Dubai-based Sport 360. “Obviously, when you get older, it becomes more natural anyway.